Quinquennial. How often do you see that word? Well, the quinquennial Ukrainian World Congress took place on November 24-27, with 248 delegates representing 26 countries participating in its deliberations, as well as events marking the 85th anniversary of the Holodomor. The congress focused on the theme of strengthening Ukrainian statehood in the wake of the threat posed by the actions of the Russian Federation for Ukraine and the entire world.
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The new leadership of the Ukrainian World Congress, (from left) Third Vice-President Andriy Futey, First Vice-President Stefan Romaniw, President Paul Grod and Second Vice-President Anna Kisil, at a press briefing in Kyiv on November 28.
Elected to lead the worldwide body for the next four years (the term of office was changed from five to four years; therefore, congresses will now be quadrennial) were: President Paul Grod, First Vice-President Stefan Romaniw, Second Vice-President Anna Kisil, Third Vice-President Andriy Futey, as well as a board of directors and an advisory committee of the UWC.
The key topics discussed by the delegates to the XI UWC included: international support for Ukraine in the areas of economic development, defense, reforms and humanitarian aid; the role of the diaspora in furthering the positive image of Ukraine and Ukrainians in the world; furthering the consolidation of the global Ukrainian community; expanding the UWC network of organizations; and strengthening the influence of Ukrainian communities in addressing issues of importance to Ukraine on the international level.
During his address at a press briefing after the congress, Mr. Grod elaborated upon his vision of the role of the diaspora in the life of Ukraine and the fundamental priorities of the newly elected leadership of the Ukrainian World Congress. His main message was the following:
• The global Ukrainian community is one of the most powerful diasporas in the world and is capable of furthering the issues of importance to Ukraine on the highest levels as a result of well-coordinated activity.
• The diaspora must have strong communities that will serve as the moral backbone for Ukraine and fight for the sovereignty of the Ukrainian state regardless of the make-up of the Ukrainian government.
• The development of strong institutions must become one of the priorities of the UWC. The establishment of Ukrainian schools, churches, cultural centers, trade and professional representations will help to prevent the loss of millions of Ukrainians outside Ukraine to assimilation.
• The 60 million Ukrainians throughout the world today are closer than ever before. Understanding unity, which is not limited by state borders, is the foundation of the modern Ukrainian identity.
The UWC is the international coordinating body for Ukrainian communities in the diaspora representing the interests of over 20 million Ukrainians. The UWC has a network of member organizations and ties with Ukrainians in 57 countries. The UWC’s new president is an active leader of the Ukrainian community in Canada. For 10 years Mr. Grod had been president of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress, an organization that coordinates the work and represents the interests of one of the largest ethnocultural communities in Canada.
The program of the XI Ukrainian World Congress began on November 24, Holodomor Memorial Day. Delegates along with the state leadership of Ukraine participated in the International Forum “Ukraine Remembers – The World Acknowledges” at the National Cultural-Art Museum Complex Mystetskyi Arsenal, and lit candles of remembrance at the National Museum Holodomor Victims Memorial.
Prior to the XI Ukrainian World Congress, the previous president of the UWC visited many countries around the globe where important international entities are located and where Ukrainian diaspora communities exist. We tried hard to keep up with Eugene Czolij’s travels during 2018, as they offered a snapshot of the numerous places worldwide where Ukrainians are active.
Mr. Czolij started off the year with stops in late January and early February at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) in Strasbourg, France; the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland; Italy, Belgium and Turkey. At PACE, the UWC president highlighted the plight of Ukraine’s internally displaced persons – a result of Russia’s war on Ukraine – and underscored the importance of continued action to counter Russian aggression, which continues to pose a serious threat for the territorial integrity of Ukraine, as well as peace and stability in the world. In Rome, he met with Pope Francis at St. Sophia Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Cathedral; and in Istanbul, with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew. In Brussels, he met with high-ranking officials of the European Union, NATO and Belgium, and co-chaired and addressed an event at the European Parliament titled “Human Costs of Russian aggression in Ukraine.”
On March 20, Mr. Czolij was in Washington, where he participated in a panel discussion at the Atlantic Council on the topic “Kremlin Aggression in Ukraine: The Price Tag.” In July he was in Berlin, where he raised Ukrainian issues during speaking engagements at side events held in the Bundestag within the framework of the 27th session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). He also met with high-ranking German officials, members of national delegations to the Parliamentary Assembly of the OSCE, and diplomats.
A notable development came on August 28, when the UWC obtained participatory status as an international nongovernmental organization (INGO) with the Council of Europe. INGOs with participatory status form the Conference of INGOs, which represents civil society at the Council of Europe and works to promote participatory democracy. In addition to holding two annual sessions, it organizes events linked to the priorities of the Council of Europe. Since 2003, the UWC has been recognized by the United Nations Economic and Social Council as a non-governmental organization with special consultative status.
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Ukrainian World Congress President Eugene Czolij with the newly established Association of Ukrainians in Denmark during its founding meeting on November 18 in Copenhagen.
Mr. Czolij visited Ukrainian communities in Austria, Slovakia, the United Arab Emirates, Serbia, Azerbaijan, Turkey, Cyprus, Greece, Portugal, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Romania, Luxembourg, Israel, Germany, the Republic of South Africa, Tunisia, Egypt, Great Britain, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Montenegro – some of them more than once. On November 18, he visited Copenhagen, where he participated in the founding meeting of the Ukrainian national central representation called the Association of Ukrainians in Denmark.
The overall goal of the numerous visits by Mr. Czolij was to promote Ukrainian issues with the governing authorities of the countries where Ukrainians reside and to strengthen cooperation with Ukrainian communities.
He also made a few visits to Ukraine, where he met with hierarchs of Ukrainian Churches, the president, the chairman of the Verkhovna Rada, the prime minister and other top officials, as well as representatives of the international community and civil society.
On August 23-28, a delegation of the UWC leadership – comprising Stefan Romaniw, UWC secretary general, chair of the UWC Holodomor Coordinating Committee and president of the Australian Federation of Ukrainian Organizations; and UWC Vice-Presidents Paul Grod, chair of the UWC Committee in Support of Ukraine and president of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress, and Andrew Futey, president of the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America; together with the director of the UWC Mission to Ukraine, Serhiy Kasyanchuk – participated in state events marking the anniversary of Ukraine’s independence and in official meetings with representatives of the governing authorities and civil society of Ukraine.
Throughout the year, the worldwide Ukrainian community worked in concert throughout the year.
Candles of remembrance marking the 85th anniversary of the genocidal Holodomor of 1932-1933 are lit in Portugal on October 6.
On September 1, the Ukrainian World Congress, together with its partners, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, the Ukrainian Institute of National Remembrance and the Holodomor Victims Memorial National Museum, launched the international action “Light a candle of remembrance!” to mark the 85th anniversary of the genocide of the Ukrainian people, the Holodomor of 1932-1933. Over 85 days, a candle was lit daily in a different part of the world, uniting Ukrainians and friends of Ukraine in remembrance of the innocent victims of the genocidal policy of the Stalin regime, while raising awareness of the issues of human rights, respect and tolerance.
The remembrance flame began its journey across five continents in Kyiv, at the Holodomor Victims Memorial National Museum, and concluded on November 24 in conjunction with the Ukrainian national commemoration of the 85th anniversary of the Holodomor in the Ukrainian capital. Among the countries where candles of remembrance were lit: Portugal, Nigeria, Paraguay, Kuwait, Singapore, Indonesia, Chile, Latvia, Croatia and Pakistan. Readers could follow the worldwide journey of the candle of remembrance online at https://holodomor85.com/.
Since 2018 marked the 100th anniversary of Ukrainian statehood, Ukrainians around the globe celebrated that historic anniversary with a variety of events. On January 22, the Ukrainian World Congress released a statement that noted in part: “January 22, 1918, the first Ukrainian Parliament, Ukrainska Tsentralna Rada, proclaimed with its Fourth Universal an independent Ukrainian People’s [National] Republic. Exactly one year later, on January 22, 1919, the Unification Act joined the Ukrainian People’s Republic and the Western Ukrainian People’s [National] Republic into one consolidated independent state. The events of January 22, 1918 and 1919, were not isolated moments in history but the culmination of a centuries-old struggle of the Ukrainian people for self-determination and freedom. Although independence was short-lived, the struggle and foreign occupation and repressions continued until August 24, 1991, when Ukraine renewed its independence.” The statement added: “Sadly, the Ukrainian people are still forced to defend the territorial integrity of Ukraine from a foreign aggressor that refuses to recognize Ukraine’s statehood.” UWC president Czolij commented: “As we mark 100 years of Ukrainian statehood, may the lessons of history renew our strength, resolve and faith in the ultimate victory, including the de-occupation of Crimea and the Donbas.”
Likewise, the statement of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress pointed out: “The declaration of modern Ukrainian statehood 100 years ago continued a thousand- year history of Ukrainian state building, from the ancient state of Kyiv Rus’ to the Kozak Sich to the Fourth Universal. Ukraine’s national liberation movement continued throughout the 20th century. The long-held dream of renewed Ukrainian statehood was finally achieved in 1991. In courageous resistance to foreign despotism, millions of lives were lost in the struggle of the Ukrainian people to exercise their inalienable right to live in liberty and choose their own common destiny. Today we honor the sacrifice and contribution of generations of Ukrainian patriots to the sacred cause of freedom.”
Both the UWC and the UCC statements were published on the pages of The Weekly.
On May 18, the UWC and the UCC both remembered the Genocide of the Crimean Tatar people in statements published on our pages. On that day in 1944, the UWC noted, “on the order of Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin, hundreds of thousands of Crimean Tatars were deported from the Crimean peninsula of Ukraine to various regions of the Soviet Union, with close to half perishing either during the journey or within a year of being exiled. In 2015, the Parliament of Ukraine declared May 18 as the annual Day of Remembrance of the Victims of the Genocide of the Crimean Tatar people.” The world body further pointed out that “The Crimean Tatars had lived peacefully on the peninsula since their return in 1987 until the illegal occupation of Crimea by Russian forces in February 2014. In 2018, history is being repeated as the Crimean Tatar people continue to face persecution, and the curtailment of human rights and fundamental freedoms by the Russian occupying forces. In 2017 alone, among activists who openly oppose the peninsula’s occupation by the Russian Federation, the Crimean Tatar Resource Center documented four deaths, 16 new political prisoners, 16 disappearances, 286 detainees, 340 interrogations, 62 searches, 46 arrests and 104 fines.”
The statement underscored that the UWC continues to highlight the plight of the Crimean Tatars in occupied Crimea, calling for the deployment of a monitoring mission of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe to Crimea to reduce the number of human rights violations and to prevent the isolation of the peninsula’s residents from the West. A statement from the UCCA indicated that the U.S. body was joining the UWC and the government of Ukraine in commemorating “the 74th solemn anniversary of one of the most tragic pages in the history of the Crimean Tatar people.”
After the November 25 attack by Russian warships on Ukrainian naval vessels moving from the Kerch Strait to the Black Sea, the Ukrainian World Congress, the Australian Federation of Ukrainian Organizations, the Ukrainian Canadian Congress and the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America all spoke out against this premeditated and deliberate act of aggression against Ukraine by Russia and called for the immediate release of the service members taken captive by Russian forces.
The Ukrainian diaspora leadership also worked with other diaspora organizations. On October 22 in Berlin, in the Embassy of Ukraine in Germany, UWC President Czolij and Lithuanian World Community President Dalia Henke signed a memorandum of cooperation between their organizations. With this memorandum, the two highest coordinating bodies of the Ukrainian and Lithuanian diasporas – the Ukrainian World Congress and the Lithuanian World Community – acknowledged that the parties wish to establish and develop mutual links and cooperation between themselves on issues of mutual interest for Ukrainians and Lithuanians worldwide and in support of democratic developments in Ukraine and Lithuania.
In the realm of education, the International Educational Coordinating Council (IECC) of the Ukrainian World Congress held the Summer Institute 2018 for Ukrainian educators on July 3-14 in Lviv. An integral part of the Institute for the Professional Development of Teachers (IPDT), the program was created within the IECC in 1992. The aim of the IPDT is to disseminate among Ukrainian educators contemporary teaching methods and principles of democratic school leadership; to assist in the development of skills necessary to work during periods of transition, change and information warfare; and to develop lifelong learning skills. The Summer Institute is coordinated by its chair, Oksana Wynnyckyj-Yusypovych, who is also a community advisor to the minister of education and science of Ukraine; the director of IPDT-IECC is the former chair of the IECC, Nadia Luciw. Ms. Wynnyckyj-Yusypovych underscored: “Today, as the new National Learning Standards are being developed and fundamental change is being implemented in Ukraine’s educational sphere, the revival of the Institute for Professional Development of Teachers and the Summer Institute tradition is very timely.”
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Participants of the first World Forum for Ukrainian Saturday and Sunday Schools held in Lviv on August 17-22.
A month later, on August 17-22, first World Forum for Ukrainian Saturday and Sunday Schools took place at Lviv Polytechnic National University. Held under the patronage of Maryna Poroshenko, first lady of Ukraine and chair of the Council of the Petro Poroshenko Charitable Fund and the Ukrainian Cultural Fund, the forum was co-organized by the IECC. Realized within the framework of the Memorandum of Cooperation between the Ukrainian World Congress and the International Institute for Education, Culture and Diaspora Relations of Lviv Polytechnic National University, the forum continued a tradition that began over 50 years ago of convening teachers and educators of the diaspora to share knowledge and successes, and to discuss the challenges of teaching the Ukrainian language outside Ukraine.
During the one-day fifth International Conference on “The Ukrainian Language in the World,” held within the framework of the Ukrainian schools forum, the chair of the IECC, Dr. Wynnyckyj-Yusypovych, delivered a keynote address on the topic “Teaching Ukrainian within State-Mandated Educational Standards and Curriculum Guidelines: A Call to Action.” She addressed the need to ensure a continuous development of Ukrainian language competency by complying with the language policies of the states where Ukrainian heritage language speakers live around the world.
Other highlights of 2018 in diaspora news included the fourth conference of the Ukrainian Journalists of North America held at Soyuzivka Heritage Center on June 15-17. Its focus was on a theme driven by today’s headlines: “How to Fight Fake News.” Topics discussed included Russian disinformation, political assassinations and Moscow’s behind-the-scenes machinations, as well as the status of Ukraine’s news media and the state of the Ukrainian language. Members of this professional organization include journalists working in the print and broadcast media, as well as free-lancers. Participating in the 2018 conference were journalists and related professionals from Toronto, Mississauga, Oshawa and London, Ontario; Edmonton, Alberta; Montreal; Sidney, British Columbia; Washington; Morristown, N.J.; Sherman Oaks, Calif.; and Kyiv. Jurij Klufas was re-elected to lead the UJNA as president. Also elected were: Andrew Nynka, vice-president, eastern U.S.; Walter Kish, vice-president, eastern Canada; Peter Borisow, vice-president, western U.S.; Marco Levytsky, vice-president, western Canada; Michael Bociurkiw, vice-president, international relations; Oleksander Kharchenko, secretary/treasurer; and Roma Hadzewycz, immediate past president.
Also noteworthy was the 50th anniversary of Plast Ukrainian Scouting Organization’s leadership training camp for young women, “Shkola Bulavnykh.” First organized in 1968 in Canada, the training camp for Plast counselors was moved the next year to the United States; it has been held in the Hunter, N.Y., area for many years. Since 1993, Shkola Bulavnykh has also been organized in Ukraine. To commemorate its golden jubilee, during the summer of 2018 Shkola Bulavnykh held a reunion of sorts: a camp led by many former campers and also an alumni camp for past attendees, no matter their age. In addition, there was a banquet on June 30 on the grounds of St. John the Baptist Ukrainian Catholic Church in Lexington, N.Y., followed by a campfire on private property nearby.